


Safe Haven

by katie_049



Category: Chicago Fire
Genre: 9x02 Spec, F/M, post 9x01
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-12
Updated: 2020-11-15
Packaged: 2021-03-10 05:41:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,935
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27529384
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/katie_049/pseuds/katie_049
Summary: Sylvie closed her eyes for a second, taking a few deep breaths herself in an attempt to ignore the searing pain against her hip and her chest. She couldn’t afford to freak out too. Mackey looked up to her, and she needed to be strong for the young woman.Right before she opened her eyes again, she heard the faint shouting of her name coming from the distance. She would recognize his voice out of a million, and relief washed through her. Matt would get them out of there. He was always there when she needed him the most.
Relationships: Sylvie Brett/Matthew Casey
Comments: 81
Kudos: 255





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [elizzoff](https://archiveofourown.org/users/elizzoff/gifts).



> This will be a two-parter! I couldn't help myself after last night's episode and this just flowed out of me. The second part will be up tomorrow as I need to go to sleep early tonight. I missed so much sleep last night. I just love Brettsey, and I hope they don't mess them up in the next episode, but I can't imagine it. Especially with the way they have built them up these last seasons and last night's episode.  
> I hope this ties you over. I love you guys! ♥♥
> 
> This is gifted to Elizabeth, a fellow European friend from Tumblr who always freaks out over my stories and Brettsey with all of us in the group chat over there! :)

A high-pitched ringing sound filled Sylvie’s ears as she blinked her eyes open with a groan. Everything around her was blurry, and she squeezed her eyes together in an attempt to focus. With her vision slowly clearing up, she tried to suck in some air, but a tight feeling against her chest stopped her.

Her hands reached toward it, coming into contact with a silky material that was strapped tightly to her chest. Moving her head forward she rested her chin on her collarbone, her hands wrapping around the constricting material, pulling at it.

She realized then that it was her seatbelt that held her in place in the driver's seat of the ambulance. Looking back up again, she took in the smoke coming out of the hood of the vehicle, and panic rose up in her.

The ambo was lying on the side with the windshield window cracked, but not completely shattered, and she was hanging in her seat, the only thing holding her into place was her seatbelt.

The last few seconds — or was it minutes? — were flashing through her mind, and she swallowed hard. She remembered the brother of their patient driving next to them, aiming a gun at her for the second time this week as he repeatedly rammed into them with his black SUV until she lost control of the ambulance and they crashed through the barricade.

The sheer force of the ambo hitting the ground was the last thing Sylvie remembered. She must have blacked out because of the hard impact, and her mind immediately jumped to the list of injuries people sustained from these kinds of crashes.

Apart from the sharp pain in her hip, she couldn’t feel any major injuries, but she knew her judgment was clouded with the adrenaline coursing through her blood. She quickly tried to move every limp on her body, checking if it was functioning correctly and while everything ached, nothing seemed to be broken.

When she turned her head to the side, her eyes fell onto Mackey who was also still in her seat, laying against the passenger door of the ambulance. Her face was scrunched up, but Sylvie couldn’t see any visible injuries on her either.

Reaching her hand out towards her, she grabbed onto her young partner’s arm, giving it a soft squeeze.

“Mackey,” she tried to call out, but her voice broke, so she cleared her throat. “Mackey, can you hear me? Are you alright?”

The blonde paramedic watched as her partner moved her head towards her, blinking at her a few times. She must have blacked out too when they hit the ground, judging from her disoriented gaze.

“Mackey, focus on me. Are you hurt?” She repeated her question with more authority in her voice.

It snapped the young woman out of her daze, and Sylvie watched as she wiggled her legs and arms gently as she lifted her head to spy down her body. Resting her head back against the ground with a wince, the dark-haired woman puffed out some air.

“I think nothing’s broken, but I might have some nasty bruises,” Gianna answered, tugging forcefully on her seatbelt, but it didn’t budge. “I’m stuck though. I don’t think I can get out.” She sounded a bit panicky, and Sylvie patted her shoulder gently.

She was stuck as well, and she knew it wouldn’t be wise to try to get out of the ambulance without assistance. It was then that she heard the familiar sound of the sirens ringing through the air, getting louder with each passing second.

“Just hang tight, Gianna. Help’s on the way,” she promised her mentee, rubbing her thumb over the younger woman’s shoulder.

Sylvie closed her eyes for a second, taking a few deep breaths herself in an attempt to ignore the searing pain against her hip and her chest. She couldn’t afford to freak out too. Mackey looked up to her, and she needed to be strong for the young woman.

Right before she opened her eyes again, she heard the faint shouting of her name coming from the distance. She would recognize his voice out of a million, and relief washed through her. Matt would get them out of there. He was always there when she needed him the most.

“Sylvie!” He screamed, and she could hear the despair in his voice.

It made her choke up, and she swallowed to keep her emotions at bay. A fleeting moment later, the ambulance rattled, and then Matt’s head appeared in the open window of her side.

His eyes were wide in shock and horror, his skin looking ashen. “Sylvie, can you hear me?” He questioned her, almost reeling over the few words. “Are you alright? Are you hurt anywhere?” One of his hands reached into the ambulance, sliding through her hair until he could cup her cheek, making her look at him. He tenderly brushed his thumb along her skin, before he pleaded once more, “Please talk to me.”

A sob wracked through her body, and she stifled it in the last minute, biting her lip. She just needed to hold on a bit longer, even if she just wanted to bury herself into Matt’s arms and let the fear and anxiety of the last few days out.

“I’m fine, Matt. We’re both fine,” she rasped as she let go of Mackey’s shoulder to grab onto Matt’s arm instead, giving it a not so gentle squeeze. “I just want to get out of here, please,” she added in a small voice, locking eyes with him.

He nodded vigorously, his eyes leaving hers as he scanned the scene in front of him. “Just hold on a minute. I’ll get you out of here,” he assured her, his thumb brushing over her cheek one more time. “I got you. I promise.”

With that, he pulled his hand back to grasp the door handle of the driver's side, yanking at it a few times. The entire ambulance rattled, and both Mackey and Sylvie groaned in unison at the movement.

“Mackey!” Cruz’s voice rang through the air, and Sylvie could see more boots appearing in front of the ambulance.

She gripped onto the steering wheel with both hands, letting her colleagues do their work now. She was holding on to the last threat, and when Cruz’s face came into sight outside of the windshield, she tried to focus on her breathing instead of Mackey.

Cruz was yelling through the window at her partner, asking her question after question, but Sylvie just tuned him out, slowly counting down from a hundred in her head.

When she reached 89, she heard Severide snapping at Matt, “Back off, Casey. You’re not helping her with this. Let me get her out of there. Both of them.”

At 77, she heard the creaking of the jaws next to her head, squeezing her eyes just a little tighter together to block out the ear-piercing noise. The loud squeaking continued until she reached 69 when the door was suddenly pulled open and a gust of fresh air hit her.

Someone wrapped a strap around her middle, and upon reaching 63, Severide’s voice filled her ears again, “Hey, Brett. Wrap your arms around my neck and hold on tight. I’m gonna cut your seatbelt now.”

On autopilot, she did as she was told, locking her arms tightly around Kelly’s neck, her face pressed into his shoulder. Even with his warning, a soft screech left her throat as her constricting belt was cut loose, and she sacked in her place. Her legs hit the console in the legroom, but Severide didn’t let her fall any further, hauling her up against him.

She continued counting in her head, and by the time she hit 51, they had her out of the ambulance, lowering her down into Matt’s awaiting arms.

Her eyes flew open when his unique smell hit her, and she latched onto his turnout coat, balling it into fists as the first few tears ran down her face.

Matt set her down onto her feet a second later, his hands coming to rest on her hips to make sure she was able to stand on her own. Hushing her softly, he let his hands wander up her sides and to her face, framing it with his large, warm hands.

“Hush, I got you. I’m here,” he breathed, his thumbs wiping away a few of her tears. “You’re fine, Sylvie. It’s gonna be alright. He can’t hurt you anymore.” He leaned forward to press a feather-light kiss to her forehead, and it was the last straw that broke her completely.

An ugly sob wreaked through her body, and she surged into Matt, burying herself into his chest. Her head came to rest against the crook of his neck, snuggling into the collar of his captain’s shirt with her nose against the warm skin of his throat. Her arms wrapped around him, going under his turnout coat, and gripping onto the suspenders of his pants.

He returned her hug just as fiercely with one of his arms spanning over her entire back to press her against his chest while his other hand tangled into her hair, scraping over her scalp every so often. His head dropped to hers, and she could feel him repeatedly press kisses into her hair while he whispered sweet nothings into her ear.

Their position was more than a little inappropriate for their environment, but Sylvie couldn’t get herself to care as the tension and suspense of the last few days flowed out of her body. She just buried herself closer to him, almost completely disappearing inside of his turnout coat, and in turn, he wrapped himself tighter around her.

The world around her faded away as she sought the comfort and safety of his embrace, his heartbeat calming her down until her sobs turned into tiny sniffles.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I lied. It's gonna be a three-parter. It really got away from me.

Matt didn’t know how long he had been pacing in front of the ED at Chicago Med. Or more precisely on the sidewalk a few feet away from the ambulance bay as the security guy had shooed him away repeatedly.

The rational part of him knew that the guy was just doing his job, but he hadn’t been thinking rationally for the last few hours. Not since the accident. The minute he had heard Mackey call the 10-1 over the radio, he had jumped up and yelled at everyone to get moving. By the time the ambulance had gone over the bridge, they had already been on the way towards the scene.

His heart had been racing in his chest, his mind clouded with paralyzing fear of losing the one person who meant the world to him. He had done his fair share of stupid things in his career and jumping out of the moving truck was just another thing he could now add to his list.

Was it reckless? Probably. Did he get yelled at by Stella and Boden later? You can bet your ass he did. But did he regret doing it? Absolutely not, because getting to Sylvie had been his top priority.

The first real deep breath he had taken after hearing the radio call had been when he had laid eyes on Sylvie, but the extreme worry for her well being hadn’t left his body, not even when he had held her in his arms. It was still present, not allowing him to stop moving from his spot in front of the ED.

Maggie had called Boden a few hours ago to let the house know that both Sylvie and Mackey were fine. While Sylvie was being released sometime today, Mackey had to stay the night. The young woman had suffered a mild concussion, probably from the impact, and she had several cuts on the side of her head from the broken window on the passenger side. Both injuries weren’t too severe, and they were just keeping her out of precaution.

After his little stunt earlier, Boden had dismissed him from shift for the rest of the day, which had been another first. Matt didn’t fight him though, getting changed in record time and driving over to the hospital to wait for Sylvie.

He had texted her that he was waiting up front with her things to take her home, but she hadn’t answered him yet. She did however read his message, and he guessed that she was just waiting for someone to tell her when she was allowed to leave before letting him know. He had sent the text over an hour ago, and he had been waiting for almost two hours.

He had just turned away from the hospital when he spotted her familiar blonde head coming out of the ambulance bay from Med, and he immediately turned back around and marched towards her.

“Sylvie,” he called out to her, raising his hand up to make himself known. Seeing her in person eased more of his worry until he got closer to her.

As she walked towards him, he could feel the tension rolling off her body. Her forehead was creased, and her lips were pressed into a tight line. She didn’t resemble the woman he had loaded into the ambulance earlier at all. When they had parted, she looked emotionally drained, but now she matched Mackey’s earlier description of ‘stone cold slayer’ that had made its way around the firehouse. It disturbed him and stopped him from reaching out to her once they stood in front of each other.

“How long have you been waiting out here?” She greeted him with a tight smile, her arms crossing in front of her chest. “I could have called an uber to get home.”

He tilted his head to the side, raising an eyebrow. “You were just involved in a major car accident a few hours ago. There is no universe in which I wouldn’t have picked you up,” Matt countered dryly. “How about we get you home now?”

She huffed softly, averting her gaze after giving him a curt nod. She was still wearing her dirty uniform, and her hair was hanging flatly down her head, making her look miserable and reflecting her stiff posture.

Swallowing hard, he placed his hand on her back to guide her back to his car, but she flinched at the contact. He instantly pulled his hand back, feeling like he had been burnt. Something was completely off with her.

They walked to his car in silence, and by the time they were seated in his car, he couldn’t bear the silence any longer. It was killing him to see her this withdrawn, especially after experiencing her meltdown in his arms earlier.

“Sylvie, talk to me. What’s going on in your head? I know something’s bothering you,” he encouraged her in a soft voice as he fiddled with his keys in his hand. He glanced over to her, mustering her in the passenger seat of his car.

She pursed her lips, exhaling slowly before she suddenly snapped, “I should have handled the situation better. I got Gianna hurt on her second shift at 51. That has to be a record.”

Surprised, he lifted his eyebrows. “Where is this coming from all of the sudden?”

“My new partner of two shifts is laying in a hospital bed as we speak. Where do you think this is coming from, Matt? I should have been more careful with this guy still running free, but instead I kept on working like nothing ever happened, sucking Mackey into this mess with me,” she scoffed angrily, her breaths coming out in short puffs.

“Sylvie, none of this is your fault. I read your report, and there is nothing you could have done differently. You got yourself and Mackey out of the house unharmed, and nobody could have predicted the guy chasing you down the bridge,” Matt tried to soothe her as he shifted in his seat to face her. He couldn’t remember a time where he had ever seen Sylvie this enraged, and he was treading in unfamiliar territory.

“I don’t want you to talk me down right now, Matt. Just get me home and let me be angry,” she growled under her breath, huffing once more before adding a soft, “Please.”

Defeated, Matt sat up straight in his seat, putting the keys into the ignition. As he started the car, his determination to get to the bottom of this amplified. She might not be ready right this moment, but he had nothing else planned for the rest of the day or the next.

“I’m here whenever you’re ready to talk about this. I’ll always be there for you,” he reminded her, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw her turn her head away from him as she bit her lip, looking out of the window.

* * *

Her angry and sour mood didn’t change when they reached her apartment, and she stormed off into her bedroom, slamming her door shut. While every single muscle in his body itched to go after her, he restrained himself, dropping their bags next to her coat rack.

Taking a quick look at his watch, he saw that it was almost dinnertime, so he walked into her small kitchen area, opening her fridge. It was stocked with lots of fruits and vegetables, and he grabbed some carrots and a zucchini to wipe up a small stir-fry.

As he was cutting the carrots, he heard her door open, and he peeked over his shoulder to see her move into the bathroom, but as quick as she had appeared, she was gone from his sight again. Resigned, he turned back to the task at hand, slicing the carrot in half before cutting it into small slices.

Just as he reached for the next one, the door opened again, but he couldn’t make out any footsteps.

“Matt?” She called out quietly, and he almost didn’t catch it.

Turning around, he found her head peeking through the half-closed bathroom door, her hand gripping onto the wood of the door. Drying his hand on a kitchen towel, he slowly made his way over to her, stopping just a few feet away from the door.

She swallowed hard, pushing her chin out. “I can’t get out of my shirt.”

“Oh.” His mouth fell open at her insinuation, and he felt his mouth go dry. It was definitely an inappropriate reaction, but he couldn’t help himself. “Do you… do you need help?” He stammered helplessly.

She just nodded, opening the door a little further for him, and he crept closer until he entered the small bathroom behind her. He tried hard to not take her in, but she already had her pants off, her long creamy legs on display for him, and he had to mentally slap himself to get it back together. She needed his help, and he lusted after her like some teenaged boy.

Biting his teeth together, he laid his hands onto her shoulders, guiding her to turn around, so her back was to his front. It would be safer that way. He watched as she lifted her arms up, her left arm stopping midway as a quiet wince left her throat.

Letting his hands glide down her sides, he grabbed the hem of her gray shirt, pulling it slowly up her body, first up her right side, then lifting it over her head before carefully pulling it off her left arm.

With her shirt off, his eyes fell to the bare skin of her shoulder, noticing the ugly, dark-red and blue bruise along the curve of her neck. It must have been where her seatbelt had cut into her.

“Sylvie,” he whispered as his hand reached out to her shoulder, and his fingers carefully traced along the edges of the marked skin.

Goosebumps erupted over her skin, and she pulled in a surprised breath at his touch, keeping completely still. The moment was vulnerable, and before he could stop himself, he leaned down, pressing a feather-light kiss to the junction of her neck where her bruise started.

Another gasp left her throat, and she let herself fall back against his chest, settling her head against his. He took it as an invitation to place his hands against her hips, his right arm wrapping around her, and his hand sprawling over the warm skin of her belly to keep her close to him.

“Matt,” she sighed, her hand covering his on her belly.

“I was so scared, Sylvie. I thought I lost you,” he breathed against her skin, nuzzling his head against her neck, being mindful of the bruise that ran down her collarbone and part of her chest.

“I’ll be fine, Matt. You got me out of there,” she replied, brushing her thumb over the back of his hand. “I’m sorry I snapped at you. You didn’t deserve it. You were so wonderful these last few days. Months even.”

His grip on her tightened at her words, and he knew that they finally reached the crossroad he was afraid to pass all these last few months. There was no going back now, but he knew they couldn’t have this talk in her bathroom with her standing half-naked in his arms.

He allowed himself to enjoy the moment just a few minutes longer, breathing in her scent, until his mind was clouded with just her. When she started to shiver in his arms, he lifted his head though, loosening his grip on her.

“Why don’t you take a shower to get cleaned up, and I’ll make us some dinner?” He suggested, giving her hip a soft squeeze.

She glimpsed over her shoulder, and the vulnerability in her gaze made his heart race for the millionth time today. 

Pressing a gentle kiss to her cheek, he pulled away from her completely, but not before reassuring her, “We’ll be fine, Sylvie.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I honestly just need it to be Wednesday. I can't wait any longer. I feel like a broken record by now, but who cares? :)  
> This is the last part for this little fic as I really want to go back to the Grounded in Love oneshots now. I also finally want to start that Property Brother's AU I have had mapped out in my head for the last few months. I need to finally write it down. In my head it's awesome, and I'm sure you'll love it too.  
> As always, thank you for reading guys! :)

When Matt set the table half an hour later, he purposefully placed their plates next to each other. He didn’t want to sit across from her today; he needed her to be close. The vegetable stir-fry was just about done, simmering on the stove until Sylvie was ready.

She had come out of the bathroom a while ago, but for some reason, she still hadn’t come back to the living room. Just when his curiosity and worry had gotten the better of him and he had ventured closer to her bedroom, he had heard her lowly talking to someone on the phone.

Through her half-open bedroom door, he had seen her sitting on the edge of her bed, one of her legs pulled up while she had held her phone up in front of her. Kidd was on the screen, still in her work clothes, and judging from the backroom, sitting in Severide’s quarters.

Before either of them noticed him, he had pulled back, going back into the kitchen and giving her the privacy to talk to her friend. He could wait a little longer for her, and if talking to Stella helped her feel better he would take it.

He took the time to briefly check his mails, rescheduling his construction job for the next day because no matter how the rest of their evening would go, he wouldn’t be in the right mind to finish tiling the bathroom at his client’s house.

When Matt heard rustling coming from Sylvie’s bedroom, he got up with their plates to serve them some of his food. He heard her soft footsteps on the hardwood floor, and when he turned back around with the plates in his hands, he knew he was in trouble.

Earlier, Sylvie had been angry about the accident and herself, but now her anger seemed to be directed at him. She had her hands braced on her hips, leveling him with a pointed look. Her eyes were drawn together to tiny slits, and he knew the reason for her anger before she even uttered a word.

Taking a deep breath, he placed the plates onto the table and looked at her with pursed lips. This would certainly not be the last talking to he would get because of his actions today. He tried to brace himself, but he underestimated Sylvie’s anger completely.

“Matt Casey, are you completely out of your mind? You jumped out of a moving truck?!” She exclaimed furiously, and he could see her entire body tensing up to the point where her muscles started to quiver.

“Sylvie,” he tried to calm her, raising his hands in front of himself while slowly walking closer to her, but she cut him off.

“Don’t you even have an ounce of self-preservation?” She questioned him with flaring nostrils. “Who in their right mind would do something this stupid and reckless? Do you have a death wish or something? You could have gotten seriously hurt!”

“I wasn’t exactly  _ in _ my right mind,” he countered dryly, shrugging his shoulders helplessly. “I stopped thinking the moment I heard Mackey’s 10-1 call. My head went into a really dark place where you were…” He trailed off, sucking in the inside of his cheek.

His words finally appeased her a bit as she crossed her arms in front of his chest, but the angry crease on her forehead stayed.

“What good would it have done if you had hurt yourself while doing your stupid stunt? Contrary to what you might think, you’re not invincible, Matt,” she chided him, shaking her head. “You can’t keep risking your life like that.”

“Sylvie, I wasn’t thinking straight,” he huffed, placing his hands on her crossed arms, gently urging her to lower them. “I knew you were hurt, and my brain short-circuited. I just had to get to you.”

She bit the inside of her lip, gnawing on it as she uncrossed her arms and let them fall down her sides loosely. “Matt, you cannot risk your own life for me.” The edge in her voice was gone, replaced by a softness and urge that was new to his ears.

He sighed deeply, placing one of his hands on her shoulder while the other cupped her cheek tenderly. Brushing his thumb over her cheekbone, he curved his back to be at eye level with her.

“I would risk my life for yours over and over again if it means that you’re safe and sound,” he vowed to her, pressing his lips together and swallowing hard. “You’ve become the most important person in my life, and I don’t know what I would do if something happened to you.”

She stepped into his space, carefully placing her hands on his chest. “I can’t lose you either, Matt,” she whispered, looking up to him through her lashes. “You have to stop being so reckless.”

Letting the hand on her shoulder glide down her side, he wrapped it around her, pulling her closer to him, until their foreheads rested against each other. He closed his eyes at the contact, breathing her in just like he had done earlier in the bathroom.

“Maybe we should both try to stay out of trouble for a while,” he suggested in a low voice, rolling his forehead against hers.

“I wouldn’t mind a few less eventful months,” she agreed as her hand slipped up his neck to trail over his cheek as she pulled back from him. “Are we really doing this?” Her voice was hesitant, and her eyes looked at him in question.

“If that is what you want,” he told her softly, his eyes locking with hers. “You’ve snuck up on me, Sylvie Brett, and I’d really like to see where this goes. I can’t remember the last time I felt this happy and carefree with someone, and if you give me a chance, I’d like to be the someone you deserve.”

A chuckle left her throat, and she tilted her head to the side. “How long have you been waiting to use that sentence, huh?” She asked him amused, pushing herself up onto her tiptoes until their chest were pressed against each other.

“That’s one way to ruin the moment, Brett. Your sweet and innocent nature is just a charade, and you’re secretly a very mean person,” he scoffed with mock hurt, huffing softly.

She giggled in his arms, which was music to his ears, and seconds later she pressed a gentle kiss to the underside of his jaw. “Someone’s got to keep you on your toes,” she whispered into his skin, nuzzling her nose against his throat.

“I have a feeling you’ll do that just fine,” he agreed with her, before framing her face with his hands to bring her lips closer to his. “Come here, I think we’ve talked enough.”

His lips hovered over hers, giving her the chance to pull back one last time, but she closed the gap between them, her lips meeting his with a smile.

* * *

Whatever painkillers they gave Sylvie at Med earlier wore off during dinner, and Matt had to usher her back to her bedroom to get her to rest. After he had watched her take another dose of her prescription, he had gone back to the kitchen to clean up and to store the leftovers for the next day in the fridge.

After quickly using the bathroom, he peeked back into Sylvie’s room, seeing her laying on her back in the middle of the bed under her covers. Her eyes were closed, and her right arm was raised over her head, resting on her forehead. She looked asleep, so he turned around to go back into the living room.

“Matt?” She called out to him from her spot, not moving an inch.

It prompted him to cross the small distance to the bed, sitting down on the edge. Reaching his hand out to her, he trailed his fingers over her forehead. “I’m here.” 

“Stay with me,” she requested softly, her eyes opening an inch to blink up to him. “Please.”

A small smile covered his face, and he leaned down to her, pressing a kiss to her forehead. “I wasn’t planning on leaving.”

Getting up from his spot, he walked around the bed, shrugging off his clothes on the way until he was just in his boxers and t-shirt. He quickly slipped under the covers, scooting closer to her, but leaving a respectable distance between them.

“I hate sleeping on my back,” Sylvie acknowledged as she lifted her arm back down from her head, putting it under the covers. “But I can’t lay on either side or my stomach because everything hurts.”

“The painkillers didn’t kick in yet?” He asked, stretching his arm out towards her to lay a hand onto her upper arm.

“No, they have, but the second I put pressure on my hips, they start to hurt again,” Sylvie explained, turning her head towards him. “And that also means I can’t cuddle you like I would like to.”

“Well, I think I can help with that,” he mused, sliding closer to her, and rolling onto his side. “I didn’t want to overstep, but I’m a big cuddler.” He shifted his hand from her arm to her stomach, letting his fingers sprawled out all the way to her waist. “Is this OK?”

Sylvie hummed, craning her neck towards his face until their noses were brushing. She pressed a sweet kiss to his lips, resting her hand on his arm on her stomach. “More than OK. I could get used to this.”

“I hope you do. I don’t think this is something I can easily give up on,” Matt replied, laying a kiss onto her cheek. “Are you still angry?”

The blonde paramedic puffed out some air, looking back up to the ceiling. “Not at you. Though I do hope, you are a little more careful and refrain from anything too reckless.” She squinted at him, taking a deep breath before continuing, “I am however still mad at myself for not handling the situation better.”

“Do you want to hear my opinion?”

“Are you going to be mad if I won’t be able to agree with you right away?”

“Absolutely not,” he assured her, pushing himself up onto his forearm. “But I find that sometimes it helps to get a different take on things. You’re free to do whatever you want with it.”

She nodded her head at him as she trailed her fingers up his arm to encourage him to talk.

“I’m guessing you’re blaming yourself because you think Gianna would follow you blindly,” he started, searching her eyes for any affirmation of his theory. When she pulled in her lip, he continued, “She’s a strong young woman who grew up on the South Side. She should be able to handle herself, and if Joe’s stories are true, she’s a lot fiercer than she lets on.”

“She seemed so scared when that guy pointed a gun at us,” Sylvie countered.

“Having a good dose of fear isn’t necessarily bad, Sylvie. If she was uncomfortable continuing to work that day, she should have said something when you gave her the chance.”

“But what if she wanted to prove herself to me? She doesn’t need to do that. I know she hasn’t been on the job long.”

“Then she will have learned her lesson now and think twice before agreeing with everything you’re saying,” Matt concluded, tilting his head to the side. “Just talk to her when you’re both allowed back to shift. Make clear that she should form her own opinion and not follow you blindly. I know you’ll be a great mentor to her, Sylvie. Just give yourself some more credit. You earned your position because you’re good at your job.”

Sylvie pressed her lips together, staying quiet for a second. He could see her brain rattling, but after a moment longer, the familiar crease on her forehead slowly smoothed out.

“I’m not 100% convinced that I couldn’t have handled this better, but you gave me a few things to think about,” she noted, touching her right hand to his cheek. “Thanks, Matt. I appreciate it.”

He gave her a lopsided smile, blinking at her softly. “Anytime. I’m glad I could help.”

Her fingers traced over his eyebrow, trailing up his forehead where she pushed some strands of his hair away, scraping her nails against his scalp gently.

“I like this slightly longer hair on you. It makes me want to run my fingers through it all the time,” she confessed, scrunching up her nose.

A laugh burst out of his throat, and he turned his face into her hand, kissing the inside of her palm. “You’re allowed to do that whenever you want. It feels nice.”

She joined into his laughter, giving him one of her blinding smiles. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

This time it was him who leaned down to press a gentle kiss to her lips, and he marveled at how good and right it felt. He was one lucky guy, and he vowed to himself to never take her for granted. He would move heaven and earth to make her happy for as long as she would let him.

“How about we get some sleep now? I think we both had enough excitement for one day,” he proposed, easing himself back down onto the mattress.

“That sounds wonderful,” she sighed, resting her hand back onto his arm on her stomach. “Thank you for being here, Matt.”

Snuggling his head into the crook of her neck, he pressed a final kiss just under her ear. “Always.”


End file.
